Throwing in the Towel

I go back and forth with this injury issue. I know you can run through IT band injury. I am considering putting running on the back burner for a couple weeks again. I did this a few weeks ago for about 10 days.

The more I read the more I am resigned to just hanging up the running shoes for a couple weeks. I did this about a month ago but not for as long.

Facing the Facts:

• It is NOT getting any better
• I am just as discouraged as I was 6 weeks ago

The Remedy:

• Continue to see Clint
• Stop RUNNING
• ROLL, stretch and ICE everyday right alongside brushing my teeth!
• Strength Exercise, work on glutes and hip
• Bike/ Cross Train

I found these Exercises for strengthening my glutes and hips.

BIKING:
Biking has no impact forces that will aggravate my injury. Biking will help maintain fitness, circulate healing blood flow, and help me recover as quickly as possible.
It will also prevent me from loosing to much fitness.
The idea is to just make sure I am focusing on spending the same time biking as I would running. Typically, you double your distance if you are going by miles. So if you run 5 miles, you should try and bike 10 miles. The time should calculate very similar as well. Biking should consist of a quality work out, try not to be too leisurely. You want to maintain a high cadence. Pedal turnover not pushing gears that can cause muscular soreness.
Biking helps to strengthen your quads.
Biking is also a great alternative to running for us injured runners because it isn't a weight bearing exercise.

I will be BIKING in addition to the above Remedy.
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12 miles biking today. It was a total SNOT FEST.
I know I have had some allergy issues as of late, However, I had NO idea that much nose juice was up there.
The harder I pedaled the more my nose ran. I was glad that something was running because it sure wasn't me!
I was launching snot rockets every few minutes. The faster I pedaled the more I felt the need to wipe my nose. My aim was terrible. I am not very coordinated to just ride the bike down the dirt roads. I was huffing it this morning with the wet gravel giving me more friction with my tires. Now I was trying to maneuver a snot rocket with 1 hand and maintain my speed. I had snot across my cheek, on my shoulder and large splatters of the warm gooey mess on my quads.
You might be wondering why I didn't just stop.

Pretty sure I had a face similar to this as I was HUFFING it on my Bike!

I am a daydreamer. Remember the movie SPEED? How Sandra Bullock couldn't go below a certain speed limit or the hijacker would kill people. I pretended that if I stopped pedaling I would be shot. I know it sounds cheesy but It worked.
I spoke out loud to my self as I headed up a wet soggy hill. "Come on NITA, Let's go, Get up, Get UP!"
Still pedaling I could feel my quads burning. I got excited knowing I was still going. "Good, Keep going, Go, Go ." I chanted to myself throughout the dirt roads, where no one could hear me except my tired body.
I could feel some frustrations surfacing. I was mad at my body for failing me. I was angry that my body wouldn't let me run. The more angry I got the more I pursued going harder, faster and stronger. As the Anger burning I wanted to direct all my frustrations right there, on the wet gravel, hidden in the canopy of trees.
Finishing up my ride I found myself back in town. This is where I DIED. A car pulled out in front of me causing me to hit my brakes. GAME OVER. It was fun while it lasted.


In closing, I had not made the official choice to quit running until my fingers hit the key board. The more I typed the more I felt comfortable making the decision. I stared at the words with thoughts of hitting the DELETE button. Maybe even the Backspace button.
Instead I will hit the ENTER Button. And Enter into a 2 week hiatus and see what happens.

Prayers Appreciated and seriously welcomed.
Anita